Dear Parents/Carers
As the school year ends we would be grateful if you could take some time to complete this questionnaire about school. We welcome any ideas that you may have that would help us continue to support your children.
Thank you for your continued support.
Mrs M Butt
We are delighted to announce that we, Ss Peter & Paul RC Primary School, have achieved the School Games Silver Mark Award for the 2018/19 academic year.
The School Games Mark is a Government led award scheme launched in 2012, facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community, and we are delighted to have been recognised for our success.
Some of our sporting events this year included:
Yr 4 Quicksticks Hockey
Yr 5 In2Hockey
Year 3 Primary Cross Country
Year 5 / 6 Swimming Gala
Football Team coming 2nd in our League
Multi – Sports Festivals in Key Stage 1
With every child competing in local inter-school competitions this year, we are extremely proud of our pupils for their dedication to all aspects of school sport, including those young volunteers, leaders and officials who made our competitions possible.
As part of our application, we were asked to fulfil criteria in the areas of participation, competition, workforce and clubs, and we are pleased that the hard work of everyone at our school has been rewarded this year.
A special thanks to:
All children who participated in the competitions so enthusiastically
Bryan Levey (School Games Officer) who arranged all the competitions
All Parents who came along to help and support
We look forward to going for Gold in 2020!
Mrs Butt
MOMO CHALLENGE UPDATE
Dear Parents / Carers
Dear Parents / Carers
There has been a great deal of press coverage over the last few days about Momo, so we wanted to give you the full facts.
There have been reports of the Momo image popping up on a computer screens, including through children’s web games like Peppa Pig and YouTube. The image itself could be disturbing to children, as it might frighten them. However, this is only the image and does not link to the game. This has proved to be very frightening so children may need to be re-assured that it’s not real and cannot do them any harm. For young children this can be very upsetting. This pop-up image is actually an image of a sculpture designed by a Japanese artist and represents a folklore character. It is just being used by hackers to create distress and sensationalise the app.
What the newspaper articles are confusing with this is the Momo challenge. The challenge itself is very concerning. It sets a series of challenges to users including self-harm and ultimately encouraging them to commit suicide. It uses persuasive blackmailing techniques including threats to show all of their images to their friends and contacts, some of which they say are compromising. This is completely untrue and nobody has access to their pictures, but they are tricked into thinking this.
To put minds at rest this challenge is very difficult to find on the internet and cannot just be found using simple searches of app store. In addition it works through WhatsApp and Facebook; apps which children shouldn’t be accessing. To access the section where challenges are received, they must add personal details such as their telephone number. This should be another warning sign to young people as they are always taught not to share personal information online. This poses the risk of data harvesting.
What we are doing as a staff?
Making sure staff are aware of what Momo is in case they hear pupils talking about it
Re-enforce the normal messages about staying safe online including the importance of keeping personal information safe.
Depending upon the age of the children, emphasise the fact that if they come across something they don’t like on-line they should tell a parent, teacher or trusted grown up.
Rest assured that WhatsApp and Facebook cannot be accessed in school and if they do get curious and start searching for Momo it would flag in the school’s monitoring solution. (*)
We have blocked the search term Momo for students*
What can can you as parents do?
Be aware that this pop-up image exists and be prepared in case your child accidentally comes across it.
Be prepared that the image might upset the child and be prepared to explain that its’ not real and it cannot do anything to harm them!
Work with your child to help them understand how they can stay safe online.
In the next couple of weeks we will be running an E Safety workshop for parents to reinforce the rules we follow at school and being issuing guidance on how you can keep your child safe online. A letter will be issued once a date and time has been confirmed.
Mr Gregg
Dear Parents / Carers,
Re: Punctuality
We are writing to all children’s families to emphasise the importance of being in school on time as there have been numerous incidents of some families routinely arriving at school at 9.00 a.m. or later and collecting their children at 3.30 p.m. or later.
School starts at 8.55 a.m. every day. Children need to be in their class at 8.55 a.m. so that they can start their lessons promptly. Children who arrive late are greatly disadvantaged because they miss starting the day with their peers and the beginning of lessons. This means that they are often unsettled and confused about tasks. Their teacher will not always be able to re explain work.
It is also very important that children establish good routines and habits in preparation for the rest of their lives. Punctuality is a life skill that they need to develop whilst they are young.
It is essential that you ensure that your child arrives at school on time to prevent disruption to your child’s own learning and that of others.
We will continue to focus on this area with children through class work and school assemblies
We are required to monitor children’s punctuality and attendance. On-going lateness (after the class register has been taken) is classified as an unauthorised absence and this is contrary to The Education Act.
We understand that there may be rare occasions when you are unavoidably late due to unforeseen circumstances. On these occasions please make sure that you contact the school office to inform us when you will arrive.
Children must be collected from their classes at 3.15 p.m. If your child is in Year 6 and unless they have your permission to go home by them self, they should be met in the playground at 3.15 p.m. and no later.
High levels of unauthorised absences or poor punctuality can result in a referral to the schools Attendance and Monitoring Officer or other agencies which have a duty to investigate further and could result in legal action being taken against you.
If you are experiencing difficulties with punctuality and would like to talk to us about it, please make an appointment to do so Please keep in mind that Breakfast Club is available to children from 8.00a.m.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs M Butt
Headteacher
School doors open at 8.45am and are locked at 8.55am.
Any child arriving at school after 8.55am will be recorded as late.
Parents/Guardians must sign the late register.
With regard to absence Parents/Guardian must ring school and speak to Mrs Wetherelt, Mrs Lee or leave a message stating your child’s name and the reason for their absence.
Attendance and punctuality is monitored daily.
For further information on punctuality and attendance please see the schools attendance policy on our website.
Further to our newsletter dated 04-06-18 please follow the following links to find out more about how we deliver Relationship and Sex Education here at Ss Peter and Paul RC Primary School.
We have also included a link to the Relationship and Sex Education Policy
Congratulations to all children – 100% Attendance 8th January – 29th March.
Well done to our Stars of of the Week 2-11-17, you make all your teachers so proud.
